Globe Corner Blogs

Mt Ascutney, VT -- photo by Jess

When choosing a day hike, I think it’s always important to have a sense of the vertical rise of the mountain and the total distance of the hike. That being said, I also know that hikers really seek a stunningly rewarding summit view that screams “take my picture!” and congratulates them for their hard, sweaty work.

With all this in mind, Mount Ascutney, located in Southern Vermont on the border of New Hampshire and Vermont, is a fun and challenging day hike good for all ages. Even if you lack tons of hiking experience, or are hiking with younger children, Mount Ascutney is quite managable and the Weathersfield Trail has a couple of convenient scenic stopping points ideal for a GORP (good old-fasioned raisins and peanuts) and a water break. Continue Reading »

Bradt Mini Guide Tallinn

I was searching for cheapish, but interesting ways to get from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Stockholm, Sweden this summer, and Kayak pointed me to Estonia Air. I was immediately intrigued by the idea of going to Tallinn for a stop-over, and so I booked the ticket. I anxiously spent the last few days in Dubrovnik getting ready to go to a new city, getting a new stamp in my passport, and getting in the mode of being a tourist again.

After a quick three hour flight, I found myself a bit shocked to be in Estonia. After leaving the hot Adriatic sun, I found myself tearing through my suitcase for my sweater and kicking myself for not packing a least one pair of tights. The weather here is much cooler than I expected, and it has been raining for the better part of the weekend. But I did profit from a few breaks in the rain to explore the Old City of Tallinn. I can’t quite put my finger on Tallinn. It looks familiar, and yet every time I hear the language it seems so exotic and foreign at the same time. The town itself, it seems to me, is a hodgepodge of different styles. Some squares remind me of Polish towns I have visited and buildings remind me of Northern Germany, Scandinavia, and Russia.  But there is something intriguing about the core of the Old City. The streets are a maze, and if you can navigate around the hordes of cruise ship tourist groups, there are interesting shops and cafes tucked away in every corner. Continue Reading »

A Stormy Lake Erie--photo by Llalan

I just got back from a place I like so much, I won’t name it. I will say that it is a small town in Ontario, Canada, and that I want it all to myself every summer from now on, just as it has been since my family and I stumbled upon it over two decades ago. I like it so much, I’m not even sharing a sunset picture with you — here is a storm. It’s just that…I’m sure I’m the only one who would ever want to live here forever and ever. See those fearsome waves and menacing clouds roiling up Lake Erie? Not somewhere you would ever want to be, am I right? I mean sure, this storm happened the evening we got there and was over the middle of the lake…and every other day was 75-degrees and sunny (in that bright open way that only skies over virtually empty beaches can be), but you can never be sure. It’s better to be safe and go to Florida. There is really nothing to do in my little town on the lake, anyway — just read on the beach, sleep on the beach, eat fresh fruit in the cabin, read on the beach… And the sun is so northern and indirect that it can really only sun-kiss those as vampire-pale as me. Forget the water, too. It’s absolutely frigid! Only the foolhardy venture out on little green air mattresses and let the gentle waves lull them to sleep. Only the plain stupid fight their way out on the windy days to where it gets shallow again and body-surf wave after wave to shore. So, really… Continue Reading »

Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina--photo by Lisa

So, I decided to tear myself away from Dubrovnik and make the trip to Sarajevo. I absolutely adore Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is one of those unforgettable cities that always leaves a lasting impression. Unfortunately, a lot of the attention seems to be on the recent history and the siege of Sarajevo, as almost all visitors are quite curious about what happened. The city is still visibly scarred, but it wears its scars with a bit of elegance. Every year it seems like there are new renovations and construction around the city. The Old Town is inviting with its leisurely pace and seems to be like a smaller Istanbul, but on Valium. The Turkish influence is quite profound, and it seems worlds apart from the Dalmatian coast, even though it is only a six hour bus ride away. Just a block away from the Old Town, you seem to step into the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and then a few blocks down the street you step into the days of Communism. (I am not the biggest fan of the architecture of this area, but it is there.) Sarajevo seems to be gaining more interest as a tourist destination and even has an eco-tourism agency. Check out the slightly expensive, but wonderful, Green Visions if you want to go hiking or whitewater rafting. But when chatting with fellow travelers in the Balkans, we seem to unanimously agree that we love Sarajevo. Continue Reading »

Frommer's Edinburgh & Glasgow

It’s a warm summer night in Edinburgh, and I just came in from a walk along the Royal Mile – the cobbled stretch of road in the Old Town that connects Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace. The Fringe and International Music festivals are in full swing, and the city has a great energy to it. There are masses of people, but it’s not nearly as crazy as I anticipated. Tonight I was treated to an incredible performance by a band from Zimbabwe called Siyaya. Set up on a street corner, I heard their music a block away and joined the crowd of hip-swaying, arm-flailing tourists. Fancy that – I went out for a stroll and wound up dancing in the street. I love this city! Continue Reading »

Tuna at Tsukiji market

As almost anyone will tell you, the Tsukiji fish market is a must for your first, jet-lagged morning in Tokyo. The subway starts running around 5:30am, so by 6:00 we were surprisingly awake and already weaving through endless rows of oysters, sea urchins, crabs, and various other sea creatures I had never even heard of. We were lucky to catch the tail-end of the tuna auction, watching successful bidders haul off fish more than twice their size–we later observed the enormous fish being halved and quartered into manageable chunks with a chain saw. We also stopped to admire an old man slicing eels from head to tail in one smooth motion, the fish still wriggling as he nailed them down. I must say I have never been more impressed by a market (and I am a fan of markets in general). Perhaps most impressive is that the innumerable heaps of seafood will be gone in just a couple hours, bought up by wholesalers and restaurants–the market will be completely empty by 1pm. And while tourists are a common sight at Tsukiji, the market is not a show for visitors (unlike, say, the floating market near Bangkok); if anything, bewildered foreigners are a nuisance, always barely avoiding getting run over by the little motor-powered fish-transporting carts. Continue Reading »

The Oasis at Lake Travis--photo by Llalan

The verdict on Texas: HOT. With lots of nice folks, though! You can’t let that whole “Don’t Mess With Texas” bit fool you. I happened to meet several born ‘n’ bred Texans who not only procured veggie burgers AND sausage for me (reportedly after several confusing trips to the grocery), but even tried it with me!

More importantly they made sure the air conditioning was on extra-high at all times and didn’t roll their eyes when I yelled, “Oh, hothothot!” each and every time we walked outside.

If I have my stereotypes right, though, big trucks and oil derricks in the backyard belong to Houston; Austin is a whole other matter. As the capital of Texas and the home of the US’s largest university, Austin is therefore also the hipster capital of the state.

Even that lone blue spot in the sea of red can’t help but be Texas, though. And by that, I mean big: one-way streets with four lanes (unheard of in New England!), a school with its own zip code…even the statue of Cesar Chavez is twice life size. And now, I’m not a very big person myself — and I never did get myself a good pair of cowboy boots — but I squinted my eyes to the sun, spat in the dust, and tackled Austin and the Hill Country like a drunk guy on a mechanical bull.

Continue Reading »

Dubrovnik--photo by Lisa

If I was following my carefully planned, ambitious itinerary, I would currently be writing a blog raving about the beautiful Lake Ohrid in Macedonia. Instead I find myself waiting with impatience to see my favorite Croatian rock band, LET 3, perform tonight in Dubrovnik. The night before I was supposed to go to Macedonia via Albania, I had a revelation. August is not the best time to spend most of the week using public transportation throughout the Balkans. (If you want to read an interesting description, try the Macedonia Tourist Board’s public transportation page.) Instead some of my new friends and I decided that August was a great time to stay in Dubrovnik! Five weeks is a long time to stay in this town and some of my colleagues have started to get a bit restless. There are only a few blockbuster tourist sites, it is often overrun with tourists that swarm the old town when cruise ships come into port, it is trendy and has therefore become expensive, and it is a bit small. But I am still awestruck by its beauty.

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Boston BikeMap by Rubel BikeMaps

Each day I bike a very modest distance to work: a straight shot down Mt. Auburn Street – no turns and few stops. Thanks to recently installed city bike racks, nine times out of ten I can “park” directly outside the store’s door, and there’s even a bike lane on our block to ease my transition from street to sidewalk. In short, no fuss, no muss.

So, while I admittedly do not have use for a bike map on a daily basis, I still find Boston’s BikeMap, published by Rubel BikeMaps, to be a useful and remarkably well researched guide to biking in and around Boston (i.e. Brookline, Watertown, Somerville, Lexington, and more).

Here’s a brief list of features I’ve found to be particularly handy:

- All area bike shops are starred in red on the map and then indexed with addresses and phone numbers.

- Contour lines based on USGS topographic maps show hilly areas (aka, areas to avoid when already tired).

Continue Reading »

New Jersey Moon Handbook

My favorite time of the summer came and went for me the other week. It was my annual trip to America’s Greatest Family Resort: Ocean City, New Jersey. Hooray! Once a year my entire extended family makes the journey for a week of rest, relaxation, memories, and most importantly, food. I ate so much food. It was delicious. There was food in the house, food on the beach, food in the car, food on the boardwalk, and food in my belly.

If you are thinking of going on vacation with “the fam” to an amazing place in New Jersey, definitely check out Ocean City. The beach is very nice, the boardwalk is a lot of fun, and there are tons of activities going on at all times. Granted, I spent most of my vacation reading on the beach, but it was still totally worth it. One day I spent the morning sea kayaking and went on a bike ride in the afternoon before a late nap. This was all followed with family activities on the boardwalk where I managed to eat half of a huge pizza, right after a big dinner and before going out for ice cream. Needless to say, I enjoyed my week trip to Ocean City this year, and every year so far. Therefore I plan on going every year for the rest of forever. The saltwater taffy alone is worth the trip.